Art! Art! Art!
Art is so inspiring and motivational!
Our artist today is Rob Ingram from Duenweg, Missouri.
Rob has worked for the last fifteen years as a machinist at
The Webb Corporation in Webb City, Missouri.
He also is an artist!
Rob does
beautiful work with his scroll saw and he also makes one, two and three
stringed instruments made out of some unusual things. We are going to talk about both forms of his
art.
Rob began working with the scroll saw in 1996 when his wife,
Melinda, wanted to start painting wood crafts.
She bought him a saw for Christmas their first Christmas together after
they were married. And it grew from
there! He began building his instruments
in 2012. He discovered the world of
homemade instruments while looking around on YouTube.
He does all of his work at home.
He created a 12’x14’ workshop in the corner
of his garage and named it “The Sawdust Shop”.
He has since spent many creative hours “making sawdust” and many great
pieces and instruments.
I do have to say
… I bought my husband one of his instruments two years ago. It is amazing.
One of the things that I like to know is what kind of music
do you listen to while you are letting all of you creativity loose. Rob has a diverse taste in music and listens
to all kinds of music while he’s piddling in the shop. This includes Gospel, Old Country, Bluegrass,
Blues, Folk music and Good Ol’ Classic Rock!!!
While he uses many types of wood with the scroll saw art he
mainly uses ¼” birch plywood for his creations.
The necks of his stringed instruments are usually made with Poplar, Oak,
Maple and Pine. His favorite wood to
work with for his instruments is Poplar because it is a sturdy hardwood and
easy to work with.
I had previously
mentioned that his instruments are made out of some unusual things. He makes one, two and three string cigar box
guitars! But that isn’t all … he also makes
them out of aluminum drink cans … cookie and candy tins … and license
plates! Yes! With his cigar box instruments, he says that
unlike a lot of homemade instrument builders, he likes to use the pressed paper
cigar boxes because they have a softer sound when the instrument is played
acoustically.
Rob says that scroll sawing is his “great escape” from every
day stuff. He has sawed for several
hours straight and completely lost track of time. His friends play golf, hunt, fish, watch
sports or whatever … he scroll saws!
Building instruments is a passion for him because there are no rules on
how or what to build them out of. You
never really know what each one will sound like until you string it up and play
it. He loves the sound of a fretless
slide cigar box or license plate guitar.
He also loves playing and building the canjos. He says that his instruments are all about
fun! Folks seem to find them interesting
and are usually surprised by the sound they make. He says there is nothing like building an
instrument out of things musical instruments are not supposed to be made
of! Then stringing it up and making
music with it!
Rob says, “I grew up in a small town in Southwest
Missouri. My family and I still live in
the house I grew up in. I spent a lot of
time with my Grandparents and loved hearing the old stories of how they used to
do things. Hard working people who
believed if you want something you have to work for it. That’s where I come from. I’ve been called a Redneck, a Hillbilly and
other names pertaining to down home strong beliefs in God, Country and Work … I
take each one as a compliment.”
His mother is an artist who draws, paints and makes jewelry.
She was always very supportive and helpful with his interest in art. His father
was a welder and a carpenter. He learned
a lot about tools and building things by watching and helping him. His wife is a painter of primitive woodcrafts
and has also painted ceramics, made dolls and made baskets.
He says he has worked hard to learn to use the scroll saw
but it never really felt like work. He
says that he still learns something with every project that he does.
With the instruments there are no rules. You try this and see how it sounds. Something that looks nice and is in good
shape may sound “awful” while an old pressed paper box that’s all beat up and
needs repaired may sound awesome. You
never know until it’s done and that is part of the fun.
The best advice he’s ever been given? Well, he says it’s not exactly advice but the
greatest thing he’s ever been told was by a friend who passed away not long ago
… “The world is a better place because of what you do.”
His favorite scroll saw piece he has done is a picture of roots
musician Justin Johnson. He drew the
pattern off of a picture that Justin sent him, cut it out and gave it to him
personally at a Cigar Box Festival in Kansas City, MO.
His favorite instrument he’s made is the very first 3 string
slide cigar box guitar that he ever built.
To him it has the best sound and he strives for that sound in each new
one that he builds.
Anyone can contact Rob on Facebook at “Rob’s Hillbilly
Guitars” and on “The Sawdust Shop”.
If you are ever in Joplin, Missouri his homemade instruments
are on display and for sale at JUGZ Liquor and Microbrew at 1605 East 20th
St.
Thank you Rob for
the interview and for sharing your talents with us!
Thanks so much to all of you for stopping by the blog!
Until next time …
Let’s get creative!
Ava Potterfield
